Graphical Construction Glossary >> Tools. >> Hand Tools >> Drawknife

Drawknife

In woodworking, two handed tool for shaping mainly in the round or curved sections. Used by wheelwrights, coopers, boat builders and others.

Draw-knife Bench

A purpose made seat or bench to hold the material while using a draw knife. The main details being that the worker sits down and uses his feet to control the gripping of the material.

Cooper

A person who makes or made wooden barrels.

Wheelwright

A person who makes or made wooden wheels.

The tool is an overgrown version a spokeshave with the handles at right angles to the cutting edge instead of parallel. The two tools would be used together in many shops.

It has a slightly convex edge so depending on how it is held it can produce slightly convex, flat or round surfaces.

It is a basic tool for roughing out curved or round shapes quickly. Used particularly by wooden boat builders and in the past by coopers and wheelwrights.

The photograph below is of a bench that is used for doing draw knife work. The worker would sit with his back to the camera and use his feet to clamp the workpiece via the curved swinging section. This would make it very easy to move the workpiece about, unlike say if the work was held in a vise.

Incidentally, the bench itself is an example of draw knife work.

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